Future GMs: Top 5 Chess Prodigies To Watch In 2023
Who are chess prodigies? They are young players who show an exceptional aptitude for chess that is uncommon for their ages. When they achieve remarkable success, such as gaining a rapid rise in rating or defeating titled players, particularly grandmasters, they attract international attention.Another mark of identifying a prodigy is their age when they qualify for the title of grandmaster. The record is currently held by Abhimanyu Mishra (see below). Prodigies often rise to be the world chess champion, such as former world champion GM Magnus Carlsen, who was 13, years, 4 months, and 27 days old when he attained the title of grandmaster.
Who are the chess prodigies in 2023 that you should be following? Are they destined to become grandmasters? Will one become the world champion?
Let’s start with the youngest grandmaster in chess history, Abhimanyu Mishra, who is included although he is already a grandmaster because his meteoric rise is so illustrative of a prodigy and he is still just 14. (The others are listed in order of age from oldest to youngest.)
Abhimanyu (Abhi) Mishra
Age:
14 (birthdate is February 5, 2009)
Federation:
United States
Elo:
2550 (April 2023) (for an explanation about Elo ratings, click here)
Title:
Grandmaster
Background And Achievements:
As the youngest chess player to qualify for the grandmaster title, Abhi is clearly a chess prodigy. That achievement clearly was not unexpected because he broke the U.S. Chess record for the youngest expert before he was eight years old.
In becoming the youngest GM ever, Abhi broke GM Sergey Karjakin's record that lasted for 19 years. Photo courtesy of Swati Hemant Mishra.
Next, he set the record for the youngest U.S. national master in 2018. Then he broke the record for the youngest international master in 2019.
In 2015, he was featured in New Yorker Magazine for earning the "Fighting Spirit Award" for being one of the last players to survive in a simultaneous exhibition conducted by GM Fabiano Caruana. In 2016, Abhi competed in the ChessKid Online National Invitational Championship.
Even though he was eligible to play in the six and under section, he competed in the eight and under section — and placed first. Even at that age, his dad said that Abhi loves a challenge. Read an account of that event in this report by FunMasterMike, who said that Abhi “showed perfect defense in the face of a would-be brilliancy” in the game below. (Annotations are by the Fun Master himself.)
Read about Abhi’s climb to attain the title of grandmaster in the ChessKid report “Congratulations to the Youngest Grandmaster in History, Abhimanyu Mishra.”
During the 2016 ChessKid Invitational, Abhimanyu Mishra (orange shirt) with tournament director Noreen Davisson (center) and Angelica Chin, a player in the girls 13 and under section.
Fun fact:
Abhimanyu Mishra was 12 years, 4 months, and 25 days old when he qualified for the grandmaster title on June 30, 2021.
Shreyas Royal
Age:
14 (birthdate is January 9, 2009)
Federation:
England
Elo:
2438 (April 2023)
Title:
International master
Background And Achievements:
Shreyas was born in India, but his family moved to London when his father began working in the United Kingdom. When his family was told in 2018 that they would have to leave when his father's work visa expired, U.K. Home Secretary Sajid Javid became personally involved in obtaining a new visa. Describing Shreyas as "one of the most gifted chess players in his generation," Javid added, "The U.K. is a country that fosters world-class talent, and Shreyas is one of the most gifted chess players in his generation."
The young prodigy has lived in Britain since he was three years old and continues to represent England internationally. So brilliant is his future, Leon Watson, secretary of Battersea Chess Club where Shreyas is a member, said that in 10 years, Shreyas could be "a household name as England's first world champion."
Shreyas started playing chess at the age of six and was introduced to the game by his father, Jitendra Singh, who said he has taken multiple loans to fund Shreyas’ chess career. “I think in a year we spend around £30,000 [about $33,400] on traveling, coaching, everything,” he says.
In August 2016, Shreyas scored an impressive 6/6 to win the British Under-8 Championship. In September 2017 he traveled to Romania and after nine hard-fought rounds tied for first place with 8/9 in the European Youth Chess Championship, Under-8. At 13 years 9 months, he broke the existing U.K. record for a first GM norm by several months. His goal is to become the United Kingdom’s youngest GM.
In late 2022, Shreyas was part of the ChessKid stream for the European Team Festival supporting the England team.
To learn more, watch the video “Shreyas Royal's Best Tactics” narrated by FunMasterMike to see some surprising moves this amazing prodigy has made. Also enjoy the “The Shreyas Royal Fork” live streams with Shreyas and FunMasterMike on ChessKid. In his "My Road to …" article series on ChessKid, Shreyas documents his advances in the world of chess. They include gaining his first GM norm and other achievements.
Fun fact:
Shreyas was part of the ChessKid stream for the European Team Festival.
Brewington Hardaway
Age:
14 (birthdate is April 22, 2009)
Federation:
United States
Elo:
2363 (April 2023)
Title:
FIDE master
Background And Achievements:
Brewington started to learn to plan chess when he was five years old in kindergarten. He joined his older sister Noni in joining a chess club at their school. Part of their coach’s advice to them was to solve 20 puzzles on ChessKid.com every week. Being the enthusiastic learner that Brew is, he did around 100 a week. Learn more about his early chess experiences by reading his article “How I Got Started In Chess” on ChessKid.
Later he was the top-rated 10-year-old in the United States when he became a national master. Are you interested in knowing three openings that helped him to become a titled player? Read his advice in his article “3 Openings I Used To Become a National Master.”
In 2021, he won the under-12 section of the Pan American Youth Chess Festival. The prize for first place was the FIDE master title. Also that year he became the seventh-grade champion at the 2021 K-12 Grade Championships. He earned the eighth-grade title at the tournament in 2022, making that his second national title win. Read his article “How I Got My Second National Champion Title" to learn his tips for maximizing your performance in a tournament.
Brewington gains his first IM norm.
In the spring of 2022, he became the K-8 Middle School National Champion in the United States. Later that year, he won the section for kids from grades six through eight at the Dewain Barber National Tournament that is held annually during the U.S. Open Tournament.
Brewington holds his trophy from the 2022 Dewain Barber National Tournament.
In January 2023, he earned his first IM norm when he was 13 years old. A month later, he earned his second IM norm when he played in the New York City Winter IM Invitational 2023. In the final round, he was paired with Lee, and they played a tough game that ended in a draw.
Hardaway (left) and Lee play against each other in February 2023. Photo courtesy of Greg Keener.
Brewington is the co-host of his own ChessKid streaming show, "FunMasterMike and the Brewmaster," and regularly accepts game challenges on the site. If you want to play Brew online, join the Official Brew’s Crew Club on ChessKid where members can challenge him.
Fun fact:
Brewington solved 100 puzzles on ChessKid each week when he was in kindergarten.
Alice Lee
Age:
13 (birthdate is October 13, 2009)
Federation:
United States
Elo:
2391 (April 2023)
Titles:
FIDE master and woman international master
Background And Achievements:
Now the number-two-rated female player in the United States, Alice Lee has achieved remarkable success in all time controls of chess: classical, rapid, and blitz. Because of these accomplishments, in 2022 she received the prestigious Samford Chess Fellowship, which provided her $70,000 for training with leading chess coaches, chess books and equipment, and travel opportunities to compete in high-level tournaments.
Alice learned to play chess when she was six years old. When she was nine, she won the under-18 section of the 2019 U.S. National Girls Championship. By age 10, she was a U.S. chess national master. In 2022 she began competing in the U.S. Women's Championship and finished tied for fifth place that year among many talented players. In the American Women’s Cup, she finished in second place in both 2022 and 2023. Playing for the Saint Louis Arch Bishops in the Pro Chess League in 2023, she defeated two grandmasters, Matthias Bluebaum (then rated 2661) and Bogdan-Daniel Deac (2700).
Alice has been a winner three times in the World Youth Championships — in 2019 (under-10 girls section), 2020 (under-12 girls section), and 2021 (under-12 girls section). She has already crossed the 2400 rating threshold, a requirement for the international master title. In addition, she is making progress in attaining the woman grandmaster title.
She is the co-host of "Alice's Pawn Palace" show on ChessKid. Read in her own words about becoming a world champion in her article “My Adventurous Gold Medal Run.” Learn about some of her best tactics in the video “Play Like Alice!”
Fun fact:
Alice Lee is a three-time world youth champion.
Tanitoluwa (Tani) Adewumi
Age:
12 (birthdate is September 10, 2010)
Federation:
United States
Elo:
2283 (April 2023)
Title:
Background And Achievements:
Born in Nigeria, Tani left his native county for the United States with his family in 2017 to escape violent threats from a terrorist organization. They initially stayed in a homeless shelter in Manhattan and have now been granted asylum status that permits them to stay in the United States permanently.
Tani tells popular chess streamer WFM Anna Cramling in April 2023 that he hopes to become a GM this year.
Tani joined a chess club at his elementary school and rapidly learned to play the game. After having played chess for only a year, he won the kindergarten-third grade division of the New York State Scholastic Championships in 2019 at the age of 8. In 2021, he won the under-12 division of the North American Youth Chess Championship.
Tani is a published author; his biography, My Name Is Tani, was published in 2020. The Tanitoluwa Adewumi Foundation was created to help children achieve excellence in learning chess and provides funding for those in need.
FunMasterMike learns to never challenge Tani to a game of chess. Horseshoes or bowling instead?
Tani is well on his way to climb higher in chess titles. To become an international master, he needs to attain a 2400 rating and win one more norm. Watch FunMasterMike explain how Tani defeated five-time U.S. champion Nakamura in this video. More fun: Watch FunMasterMike play against the Tani bot here. You can play against the Tani bot on ChessKid here. Enjoy playing through Tani's game vs. Nakamura.
Fun fact:
Tani has defeated five-time U.S. champion GM Hikaru Nakamura.
Do you think that you are a chess prodigy? Prove it by showing how quickly you can solve puzzles on ChessKid. Could a chess prodigy in your family expedite his journey to becoming a titled player by online coaching? Check out the coaching resources of ChessKid and Magnus Chess Academy.
Finally, do you want to play against one of these prodigies on ChessKid? Check the monthly schedule here and see when you can challenge one of them soon.
